The links between disadvantage and the achievement grade in school inspection
Recent Ofsted analysis showed that achievement grades in inspection were related to the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. We dig into this a bit more.
How will qualification entry patterns change as a result of changes to Attainment 8?
Expect an increase in entries in creative subjects and fewer entries in geography, history and triple science
Best-fit progress: Is it worth it?
The Department for Education are consulting on a new "best-fit progress" measure for pupils with low prior attainment at the end of Key Stage 2. But does it offer any more beyond the existing Progress 8 measure?
Are DfE right to ditch confidence intervals?
DfE are proposing a change to the way they calculate bandings that summarise schools' progress scores. We look at the pros and cons of doing so.
Contextualising attainment without Key Stage 2 baselines
We talk you through some new measures in FFT Aspire, designed to make sense of Key Stage 4 attainment in the absence of Key Stage 2 data.
What difference will the proposed changes to Attainment 8 and Progress 8 make?
The proposed new method of calculating Attainment 8 will not affect schools' Progress 8 scores greatly but will shift the incentives to enter particular subjects
Making sense of school performance data in 2025
This year's published secondary school performance data shows why Progress 8 (or something like it) is needed, despite its flaws
The pupils who leave school without passes in GCSE English and mathematics
Post-COVID there has been a rise in the percentage of pupils leaving school without a pass (9-1) in GCSE English and a similar figure in maths. Most of these pupils were not entered for examinations.
DfE will need to take account of age when comparing schools’ rates of pupils achieving a good level of development
We look at some of the things DfE should consider when providing schools with comparative analysis of the percentage of pupils reaching a good level of development (GLD) at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage.